St. John's Cemetery

St. John's Cemetery in Blackstock is, as many of you know, our parish cemetery following our joining with the parish of St. John's Blackstock.  It is run, as it has been for many years, by dedicated volunteer community members, including some of our own parishioners.

There is now a page on our website that offers information for people who are considering a burial or an interment of ashes in one of the columbariums.  You can visit the page here: Cemetery Page

The annual decoration day service will be held on Sunday September 10th at 2 pm.  This is an annual service for family and friends of those buried at the cemetery to gather, remember, pray and offer thanks.  Everyone is welcome.  This year, the service will be followed by a historic tour of the cemetery with local historian Paul Arculus.

From the most recent newsletter:

Greetings from your Cemetery Board.

We give our profound thanks to Leah Frew for many years of service on the cemetery
board. We welcome Jane Fisher who has joined us.

We are all extremely proud of our cemetery. It has been remarkably well kept. This is
due particularly to Justin Stone who has been responsible for its maintenance for the
past 25 years. Yes, that’s a quarter of a century!

Justin is now in the process of finishing the border around the new columbarium. This
will follow the same pattern as the earlier border. Many thanks Justin.
Our treasurer, Nancy Thompson is working out details of how to transfer donations into
the cemetery account using e-transfer. We’ll keep you informed on that issue. Anyone
wishing to make a donation by e-transfer should call Nancy at 705 324 1727.

Recent burials:
Glenna Staniland
Richard Willis
John Grant cremation ( Columbarium )
There are only seven (7) spaces left in our old columbarium.

Saint John’s Cemetery Annual Memorial Cemetery Service
Sunday September 10 at 2.30 P.M.  Don`t forget to bring a chair.

We hope to have the work done around the columbarium by then. Paul has offered to do a history walk this year. In case of rain we will meet in Blackstock United church on Church St. in Blackstock

We wish you all an enjoyable and peaceful summer.

The earliest burial in our cemetery is of an unnamed infant child of Ralph and
Mary Ann Edgerton who died on December 30, 1846. A second Edgerton child,
also unnamed, died in 1848. There are numerous burials in 1850. When the
Reverend William Logan, the first rector assigned to serve the Cartwright
Anglicans arrived in April 1850, one of his first duties was to conduct funeral
services for children of the pioneer settlers; William George Seymore, infant son
of William and Mary Ann Seymore, and one-year-old Eliza Ann Devitt, daughter of Thomas and Jane Devitt. On December 20, he conducted a burial service for two-year-old Mary Jobb, the daughter of John and Jane Jobb.

Our cemetery has an abundance of stories to tell about the hardships of pioneer